The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Ensign John J. Doherty (NSN: 0-84295), United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as pilot of a plane of a United States aircraft carrier during operations against the Marshall Islands on 1 February 1942. Ensign Doherty scored a direct bomb hit on a Japanese vessel and set it afire and, later, succeeded in obtaining an accurate bomb hit on his target, in the face of overwhelming enemy fighter opposition. When again pressed hard and warned by a fellow pilot of his extremely hazardous position, Ensign Doherty, pursuing evasive tactics in a critical situation, disappeared in a bank of clouds and never returned to his ship.